OSA APT Newsletter: Art & Action – Vol: 19 No: 4 – February 2020

On February 16, 2021, the OSA POC (People of Color) group hosted a special POC Town Hall.  The meeting was attended by over 70 participants including BIPOC  students, staff, alumni, and parents. Although anyone was invited to the meeting, white allies were asked to listen, in order to prioritize the space for POC. 

A bit of history about the POC group was shared with the audience. The POC group at OSA was founded several years ago by a group of parents in partnership with OSA staff member Cava Menzies. The group held a town hall meeting last year and several key issues were prioritized:

• Step It Up was identified as a critical resource in reaching youth and families of color in order to build a pipeline of families coming to OSA, more representative of Oakland demographics.
• The staff and Board of OSA should prioritize professional development for themselves on DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and equity issues.
• Dedicated DEI resources must be adequately included in OSA budgets: this includes adequate staffing, Step It Up expenses, and student-led initiatives.

The Board of Students of Color (BOSC) shared the demands that they developed in spring 2020 and had presented to school administrators earlier this year (see last three pages of BOSC Newsletter).  They reported some progress with the school on several specific items. Use of the word “demands” was briefly discussed as an appropriate term given the urgency of what POC have and are currently facing in communities and institutions. Uma Joshi, BOSC student advisor and OSA DEI program researcher noted that the word is not a “threat” but is meant to underscore the seriousness of existing conditions that must change. 

To further expand upon these issues, POC leader and parent Brittany Walker Pettigrew introduced the AESA rubric on aspects of multicultural and anti-racist institutions.

She described a range of institutional characteristics in relation to DEI and equity issues, from absolutely operating within a white supremacy structure to those organizations that have done tremendous and transformative structural work to create equitable and accountable institutions. The audience was then placed in breakout rooms to consider where OSA falls within the range on the AESA rubric (1 = being without equity & accountability and 6 = being shining examples of what an institution can become). Following small group discussion, a representative from each group was asked to present on their findings to the larger audience. 

Overall, there was a striking consensus by attendees that OSA is an institution that can be characterized as “symbolic” in their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion work, scoring a 2.5-3.0 on the 1.0-6.0 scale.

The following are sample sentiments that were shared during the Town Hall:

• There is tokenism of the BSOC and/or parents of color when OSA needs to highlight diversity.
• Alumni of color shared they had raised issues regarding racism in the classroom and that there was no follow-up by the school, and for some, this contributed to an unsafe environment.
• OSA has made efforts to improve, but there is still a long way to go.
• School structures and leadership do not reflect an equity-driven school.
• Still a white supremacy culture institution
• Staff of color are expected to cover many roles with one salary, no job title to reflect all they are doing, and meager (or none) compensation for extra duties.
• The systems are not built to retain staff of color at OSA.
• Top-down change is needed.
• OSA must commit to structural change beyond words and feelings.
• A lot of students of color did not get chances to shine and were not asked if things were going okay.
• A lot of alumni are not comfortable coming back into the OSA community because of some of these issues and there has been a lack of effort by OSA to outreach to them, beyond the high profile, celebrity alumni.
• There were classroom altercations and a lack of safe space for Black students, slurs by some teachers, an ignoring of complaints systemically. 
• Teachers need to hold each other more accountable.
• Do not make students of color do the emotional labor of identifying anti-blackness and other incidents of racism as this compounds students’ trauma and vulnerability and creates an unsafe environment for them. The administration seems to have trouble bringing POC into decision-making.
• Lots of excitement at alumni showing up and sharing their experiences at the meeting!
• OSA should hire alumni moving forward.

The meeting came to a close after an incredibly rich conversation. It was clear that there is a desire for more open conversation about these issues. Although there were some very hard truths shared that point to a need for a transformation of the way OSA currently operates, it was also clear that there is a deep love and commitment to OSA, and there is hope that urgent changes can be made. 

The APT has dedicated itself to the achievement of meaningful equity for all OSA students and families as its core issue this year. We believe that the POC Town Hall conversation reflects built-up concerns and injuries that have occurred at OSA, and that in order to move forward we must acknowledge and learn from this, and then take immediate action to rectify the harm. The themes that emerged from POC at this meeting must serve as guidance for OSA in moving forward with its DEI and equity goals.  In particular we feel the AESA rubric provides key benchmarks for tracking OSA’s transformation into a more equitable institution.  We are committed to collaborative work with the POC group, staff of color, PODS, BOSC, and the staff union at OSA (COSATS) to ensure that all voices are heard, and that real change is happening.